Poll puts Le Pen, Macron as frontrunners in first round of French presidential race

Date of publication: 11 04 2017, 22:19

France’s National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, and former economics minister Emmanuel Macron remain the favorites among the French presidential hopefuls, suggests a survey by the Elabe pollster.

The survey says about 23% of French voters are ready to support each of them. The last among the trio of leaders is the Republican party nominee Francois Fillon, who can take home 19% of the ballots, according to the pollster.

As of the present day, Emmanuel Macron, founder of the En Marche! (On the Move) movement, has the biggest chances to win in the second round. However, experts warn about possible surprises.

The fact is that with less than two weeks remaining before the election, many voters are still undecided. Only Marine Le Pen and Francois Fillon are sure they will be supported by 83% and 77% of their voters accordingly. As for Macron, his electorate is less stable, many of the polled French voters said they were ready to cast their ballots for the young politician, but were not absolutely sure.

“This can mean that directly on the voting day, fewer people than forecasted in surveys will vote to support Macron,” experts say. “In the remaining time, all without the exception candidates will have to invest effort to win over the still undecided voters,” they say.

France’s presidential race will be held in two rounds scheduled for April 23 and May 7.